Mike Tyson bites ear - Jun 28, 1997 - HISTORY.com Mike Tyson bites ear Publisher A+E Networks On June 28, 1997, Mike Tyson bites Evander Holyfield’s ear in the third round of their heavyweight rematch. The attack led to his disqualification from the match and suspension from boxing, and was the strangest chapter yet in the champion’s roller-coaster career. Mike Tyson enjoyed a rapid rise to stardom. In 1986 he became the youngest heavyweight champion in history by beating Trevor Berbick at just 19 years old. By 1989, however, Tyson had begun a long downward spiral into sports infamy. His erratic behavior included marrying and divorcing actress Robin Givens (after being accused by her of domestic violence), firing and suing his manager, breaking his hand in an early morning street brawl and two car accidents, one of which was reportedly a suicide attempt. Tyson also fired trainer Kevin Rooney and replaced him with notorious promoter Don King.

Unable to keep his focus on boxing, Tyson, once thought unbeatable, lost the heavyweight title after being knocked out by 42-to-1 underdog James “Buster” Douglas in a stunning upset on February 11, 1990. In 1991, Tyson was accused of rape by Desiree Washington, a contestant in a beauty pageant he was judging in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was convicted on February 10, 1992, and served three years and one month in a federal penitentiary. Once released, Tyson regained his heavyweight belts and then planned a bout with Evander Holyfield, a clean-living, religious former heavyweight champion from Georgia who was considered the best heavyweight challenger for Tyson after number-one contender Lennox Lewis, who Tyson refused to schedule. Holyfield had retired in 1994, but the prospect of a huge payday proved tempting, and on November 9, 1996, the underdog Holyfield shocked the boxing world by beating Tyson in an 11th round TKO to win Tyson’s WBA title.

Holyfield came into the widely anticipated rematch on this day in 1997 even stronger than he had been for the first fight. In the first round, he hit Tyson hard with body shots while Tyson flailed away, ignoring the science of boxing his trainer had promised he would employ. By the end of the round, the crowd chanted Holyfield’s name, turning on the usual fan favorite Tyson. In the second round, Holyfield head-butted Tyson, opening a cut over Tyson’s right eye. In the third round, Tyson lost what composure he had left. He spit out his mouthpiece, bit off a chunk out of Holyfield’s right ear and then spit it onto the canvas. Though Holyfield was in obvious pain the fight resumed after a brief stoppage, and then Tyson bit Holyfield’s other ear. With 10 seconds left in the third round, he was disqualified. His $30 million purse was withheld while Nevada boxing officials reviewed the fight.

Events in Tyson’s life took repeated turns for the worse in the aftermath of the fight, and culminated in his declaring bankruptcy–in part due to $400,000 a year spent on maintaining a flock of pet pigeons–and an arrest for cocaine possession. In 2006, Tyson agreed to join Heidi Fleiss’ legal brothel in Nevada as a prostitute. Related Videos June 28, 1997: Mike Tyson bites off chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear in world title fight - BT June 28, 1997: Mike Tyson bites off chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear in world title fight Controversial boxer Mike Tyson shocked the boxing world when he bit heavyweight champion Holyfield on both ears during their WBA title fight in Las Vegas. Share this Print this story In what was to become arguably the most notorious and bizarre moment in boxing history, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson bit a one-inch chunk from the right ear of his opponent, WBA world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, in the third round of their title fight in Las Vegas.

To compound matters, after the fight resumed following a warning to Tyson, the former undisputed champion sank his teeth into Holyfield’s left ear, once again drawing blood, and leaving referee Mills Lane with no option but to disqualify him. The two men had fought for the first time seven months earlier, with underdog Holyfield wresting Tyson’s WBA crown from him with an impressive and dominant performance, stopping the New Yorker in the 11th round. In that fight, a headbutt by Holyfield, ruled accidental, had opened up a cut on Tyson’s eye and upset the shorter boxer, but after the bout Tyson told his vanquisher: “I have the greatest respect for you.” Despite this, Tyson’s camp had demanded a different referee for the rematch to ameliorate against what they felt was illegal use of the head by Holyfield. In the second round of their rematch, another clash of heads again opened a cut above Tyson’s eye, clearly enraging him. As he came out for the third round, Holyfield was the first to notice that his opponent was not wearing his gumshield.

Referee Lane sent Tyson back to his corner to retrieve it, but with 40 seconds of the round remaining the challenger would spit it out and launch his assault on Holyfield’s ear. Tyson was docked two points from his scorecard, but would then take a second bite at the champion and was disqualified. In a rage, he would try to attack Holyfield and his trainer in their corner (pictured above) but was prevented from doing so. On his way from the ring, Tyson would also attempt to attack a spectator who threw a bottle of water at him, before being restrained. The former champion would have his boxing license revoked, and would be fined $3 million plus legal costs as a result of his actions. What did you make of the ‘Bite Fight’? Was Tyson lucky to box again afterwards? Let us know in the Comments section below. Tyson vs Holyfield – Did you know? Mike Tyson had been discovered by legendary boxing trainer Cus D’Amato, who became his legal guardian on the death of Tyson’s mother when he was 16. The young man made his professional debut two years later, and won his first 19 fights by knockout.

He won the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title by knocking out Trevor Berbick in 1986 when he was just 20 years and four months old, making him the youngest world heavyweight champion ever. Tyson was tried and convicted of rape in 1992 and served three years of a six-year sentence, during which time he converted to Islam. Former Olympic bronze medallist Evander Holyfield won the undisputed world heavyweight title in 1990 by beating James ‘Buster’ Douglas – the man who had handed Tyson his first professional defeat. Holyfield was due to fight Tyson in late 1991, but the latter withdrew with a rib injury. After his incarceration, Tyson had defeated Frank Bruno to win the WBC title, but had relinquished the belt and taken the WBA title from Bruce Seldon before meeting Holyfield. After the second fight between the two, Tyson and his corner would claim his actions were in retaliation to Holyfield’s unpunished headbutts. Though his license was revoked ‘permanently’, it would be returned to him a year later after an appeal.

Holyfield claimed to have forgiven Tyson immediately, but Tyson would formally apologise on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2009. The men are now friends, and Tyson introduced Holyfield when the latter was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in 2014. Share this Mike Tyson Bite Fight – Evander Holyfield June 28, 1997 World Boxing Association Heavyweight Title (1st defense by Holyfield) Notes Holyfield vs. Tyson II was billed as “The Sound and The Fury.” The fight was originally scheduled for May 3, 1997, but it was postponed until June 28 due to a cut Tyson suffered over his left eye during training. The cut occurred when Tyson butted heads with a sparring partner. The postponement was announced on April 8. Tyson was rocked in the first round by a right. In the second round, Tyson threw a right as Holyfield was starting to throw a left hook. As Tyson leaned into the punch and Holyfield ducked it, their heads came together and opened a cut over Tyson’s right eye. Referee Mills Lane called time and informed ringside officials that the cut was caused by a headbutt.

After losing the first two rounds on all three official scorecards, Tyson was doing better in the third, catching Holyfield with a couple of good rights. But in the final minute of the round, while the two were tied up, Tyson bit a chunk out of Holyfield’s right ear. Holyfield stepped back and jumped in the air, twirling around. Tyson then walked up behind Holyfield and pushed him into the ropes. Lane stopped the action and deducted two points from Tyson, who told Lane that the damage to Holyfield’s ear was caused by a punch. “Bullshit!” Lane replied. When the action resumed, Tyson bit Holyfield’s left ear. At the end of the round, when Lane saw the bite mark on Holyfield’s left ear, he disqualified Tyson. In a post-fight interview with Jim Gray, Tyson claimed that the head butts were intentional by Holyfield, and the bites were retaliation. Holyfield required eight stitches in his right ear. After the fight, an MGM Grand employee located part of Holyfield’s ear in the ring, scooped it up with Latex gloves, and took it to Holyfield’s locker-room door. “I have something he probably wants,” he told the security guard.

Holyfield’s camp placed it in an ice bucket and hoped surgeons could reattach it, but it apparently was lost during the ambulance ride. “The plastic surgeon and I were digging through the ice pack and couldn’t find it,” said Tim Hallmark, Holyfield’s conditioning coach. Holyfield vs. Tyson II was, at the time, the highest grossing boxing match in history in all categories. A crowd of 18,187 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena produced a gate of $17,277,000. Domestic pay-per-view buys totaled more than 1.99 million and generated $99,822,000. The fight was shown on closed circuit television at 1,625 locations in the United States and generated $5,959,000. The fight was also seen in 97 foreign countries and foreign sales totaled $21,240,000, which included sponsorships.

At the time of the bout, it was estimated by Showtime that Mike Tyson fights accounted for nearly 25% of all pay-per-view revenue since pay-per-view became popular in the 1980s, although most believe this percentage to be lower. It was the biggest promotion ever for Jay Larkin, who worked for Showtime from 1984 to 2005, rising from junior publicist to senior vice president and executive producer. When Tyson got out of prison, promoter Don King got him a six-fight deal with the MGM Grand. For his part, King got 618,557 shares of MGM Grand stock. After Tyson’s license was revoked, MGM decided to severe it’s relationship with Tyson, and MGM Grand controlling owner Kirk Kerkorian bought out King’s stake in the hotel and casino for $27.5 million. This was the last Mike Tyson fight promoted by Don King. Tyson sued Don King Productions for $100 million in 1998. They settled out of court in 2004 for $14 million, all of which was paid directly to the United States government for unpaid back taxes owed by Tyson. Holyfield vs.

Tyson II was named the second dirtiest fight of all-time in the December 1997 issue of The Ring. “The Bite” was named the 1997 Event of the Year by The Ring. Jeff Powell's Greatest Fights: Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson on June 28, 1997, MGM Grand, Las Vegas was 'The Bite Fight' | Daily Mail Online Jeff Powell's Greatest Fights: Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson on June 28, 1997, MGM Grand, Las Vegas was 'The Bite Fight' Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield met in a heavyweight rematch Holyfield won the first fight seven months earlier and was the champion Tyson twice bit off part of Holyfield's ear before the fight was stopped He was later suspended for a year before being reinstated comments Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao will be the biggest fight of all time financially and the most significant this century. Evaluating the greatest ever fights is a complex variable of several factors including not only the quality and excitement of the action but the political, social and cultural undertones, the scale of expectation and outside influences.

Where Money Man vs PacMan comes to rank among the most important fights in ring history will depend upon what happens that coming night in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. In this, the penultimate in a series of 12 fights that shaped boxing history, Sportsmail's Jeff Powell recalls how Mike Tyson shamed the sport when he took a chunk out of Evander Holyfield's ear. This was the over-heated night in the desert when The Real Deal became The Real Meal. Holyfield had stopped Tyson seven months earlier to win the WBA world heavyweight title and Iron Mike was still festering about what he regarded as deliberate head-butting. The seething was to turn into teething in the second round when Holyfield ducked and his forehead rammed into Tyson's, opening an ugly cut above his right eye.

Mike Tyson sinks his teeth into Evander Holyfield's ear in their 'Bite Fight' Holyfield has his right ear checked by referee Mills Lane after he was bitten by Tyson Tyson reacts to referee Lane after he stopped the fight against Holyfield in the third round RELATED ARTICLES MIKE TYSON v JAMES DOUGLAS February 10, 1990, Tokyo, Japan Come a clinch, Tyson bit off a chunk of Holyfield's right ear and spat it onto the canvas. Holyfield shrieked in pain and referee Mills Lane called a time out which lasted several minutes before he decided to deduct two points from Tyson instead of imposing instant disqualification. At the start of the third Lane had to order Tyson back to his corner to put his mouth-guard in place before he launched an enraged attack. Tyson then bit Holyfield's other ear but without gnawing off any cartilage. At the end of the round Lane checked that there had been a second bite and called the disqualification. Tyson rampaged around the ring screaming that he was retaliating for head butts and blaming Holyfield for making it a gutter fight. He had to be restrained from clambering into the seats to confront jeering fans.

It was 25 minutes before enough calm prevailed for ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jnr to declare the official result. Holyfield was taken to hospital. He was followed in haste by a security man who had retrieved that piece of ear from the floor of the ring and arrived in time for it to be sewn back on. Meanwhile, chaos was breaking out in the MGM casino. Amid the scuffles came what sounded like gunshots and there were reports of a police officer drawing his weapon. Some of the crowd dived under the gaming tables, others took the opportunity to scoop up thousands of dollars worth of chips before running for the exits. Tyson would be suspended indefinitely from boxing – as well as fined $3 million - but had his license reinstated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission a year later. In the context of boxing history, this outrage signalled the end of the turbulent, sometimes scandalous, often terrifying, prison-interrupted but utterly compelling reign of the youngest world heavyweight champion. Tyson would fight on but the Baddest Man on the Planet did not regain his title. Holyfield forgave Tyson, who was to induct him into the boxing Hall of Fame, and they remain firm friends to this day.

Tyson shouts in the ring with fury after his heavyweight world title clash with Holyfield was stopped Tyson continued to battle in the ring after his fight against Holyfield was stopped after the bite Before the bite, a fight broke out as Holyfield and Tyson met in their heavyweight rematch Holyfield had beaten Tyson seven months earlier and was the WBA heavyweight champion Read more: #RememberWhensdays: Mike Tyson bites off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear — The Undefeated Email When boxers Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield pummeled each other with punches for the first time on Nov. 9, 1996, they did so for a fight that was billed with the tagline “Finally” during its promotion. It was a bout that had been scheduled as far back as 1990. And after Holyfield snatched one of the more jarring upsets in the history of the sport, a rematch was inevitable. That rematch, fought on June 28, 1997, was promoted as “The Sound and The Fury,” and rightfully so. After all, both men were beasts.

Holyfield carried a 33-3-0 record into the ring, Tyson, a cool 45-2. The difference? Holyfield knocked out a respectful 24 of his opponents. Tyson? He coldcocked 39 of his. He was just more lethal. Yet, by the end of rematch, the talk wouldn’t be about boxing, but biting. The fight might have been sold one way, but it’s remembered forever differently as “The Bite Fight.” It started with a head-butt. Not the fight itself, but Tyson’s unwavering rage. In the second round, Holyfield’s head crashed into Tyson’s, opening up a cut above Tyson’s right eye, but the referee ruled it accidental. “He butted me in the second round and he butted me again,” Tyson said following the fight. “He kept butting me and nobody would help me. This is my career. What am I supposed to do? I’ve got children to raise.” When the third round began, Holyfield spotting something odd: Tyson was missing his mouthpiece. He was ordered to retrieve it and pop it back in, but his motives had already been revealed.

With 40 seconds left in the round, the two men clutched onto each other after exchanging strikes. Holyfield buried his head into Tyson’s shoulder, trying to rest for just a beat. Tyson turned his head, opened his mouth and clamped down on Holyfield’s ear, twisting and jerking his head. A close-up of the injury to the right ear of Evander Holyfield of the USA after Mike Tyson Of the USA bit off a piece of it in the third round of their World Heavweight title fight on June 28, 1997 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images Tyson spit out a chunk of earlobe and grinned maniacally. Holyfield spun around furiously, screaming and in complete disbelief. When he turned his back, Tyson’s grin faded into a growl and he charged forward, punching Holyfield in the back. Why not? Referee Mills Lane initially wanted to disqualify Tyson, but after the ringside doctor determined that Holyfield was able to keep fighting, Lane announced he would be deducting two points from Tyson and the brawl would go on, missing ear chunk and all.

In the final 10 seconds of the third round, Tyson and Holyfield locked into a clinch once more and, yet again, Tyson bit. That was enough for Lane, who disqualified Tyson, something that would ultimately cost the man his boxing license and a $3 million fine. An enraged Tyson berated Holyfield and his corner. Security swarmed and Tyson tried punching them, too. One fan threw a rolled-up piece of paper at Lane. When Tyson tried ramming into Holyfield again, he bowled over a police officer. And when he finally tried to leave the ring, things got even worse. As the New York Daily News wrote that night: As Tyson … left the ring he made obscene gestures to enraged spectators, grabbing his crotch and pointing fingers. He walked through the crowd toward the dressing rooms in the back of the arena when a plastic bottle filled with mineral water hit a spectator. Tyson, according to several eyewitnesses with cameras, then jumped into the stands, knocking over temporary railings and swinging at customers, trying to reach the alleged bottle-thrower, who was later arrested.

“It’s the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen in all my years of boxing,” Holyfield’s trainer, Don Turner, told the New York Daily News about the bite. Eventually, Holyfield publicly forgave Tyson, when the two appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2009. By 2013, nearly 16 years after The Bite Fight, Holyfield and Tyson completely buried the moment and became friends. The two men stood elbow-to-elbow at an event promoting Holyfield’s barbecue sauce. A photo posted by Mike Tyson (@miketyson) on Sep 3, 2012 at 4:35pm PDT Still, the best and most full-circle moment between the two former boxers happened in August 2014 when Holyfield was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame. Out came Holyfield’s buddy to introduce him to the crowd, calling him “one of the greatest fighters in the history of the world.” It was high praise coming from Tyson. Ryan Cortes is a staff writer for The Undefeated. Lemon pepper his wings.

On This Day: Mike Tyson bit a chunk out of Evander Holyfield's ear - Boxing News Boxing News June 28, 2016 BN Staff On This Day: Mike Tyson bit a chunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear Bob Mee, ringside, watched a heavyweight title rematch descend into absolute chaos as Mike Tyson resorted to savage foul play On This Day: Mike Tyson bit a chunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear Bob Mee, ringside, watched a heavyweight title rematch descend into absolute chaos as Mike Tyson resorted to savage foul play Action Images/Nick Potts Don’t miss any action. Sign up for the free BN newsletter(s) here MIKE TYSON doesn’t have the stomach for boxing any more. The fighter who once labelled himself the baddest man on the planet should have no further part to play in the business which gave him so much. Tyson’s disgusting performance in the MGM Grand Garden on June 28, 1997 will earn him at most a $3m fine from the Nevada State Athletic Comission. That’s chump change for a man who has grossed around $105m in less than two years.

He may also face a substantial suspension, although his profuse and apparently sincere apology on Monday – his 31st birthday – may have spared him a life ban. Whatever his eventual penalty, the real price Tyson has paid is in credibility, not simply now in the anger of the moment, but for however long boxing survives and is remembered. There have been disqualifications before, but no offence has been as vicious, as thuggish, as cowardly as this. For those who have been on Planet Zog all week, Tyson was thrown out of his WBA heavyweight title challenge against Evander Holyfield at the end of round three, for biting Holyfield on both ears. Referee Mills Lane, who stepped in when Mitch Halpern withdrew following a protest from the Tyson camp, seemed to be viewed in America as having taken some kind of firm stand. In fact, he was incredibly lenient. When Tyson chewed a piece out of Holyfield’s right ear and spat it out with about a minute left in round three, the champion bounded up and down in agony, frustration and outrage. With the ear horribly disfigured and pouring blood, Lane somehow decided to let the fight go on.

After a break of around four minutes, he tried to keep a lid on the situation by deducting two points from Tyson, one for the bite and one for shoving Holyfield in the back after the champion had turned away. Even when Tyson deliberately bit Holyfield’s left ear in the next available clinch, Lane allowed the round to end, then ruled the fight over. “Disqualification is the biggest penalty in boxing, and I thought it over,” said the vastly experienced referee, whose main living is made as a judge in Reno. “I did what was right. You play the hand you’ve got and you do the best with the card. One bite, maybe. It’s bad enough, but two bites – that’s the end of the search. “I told him ‘One more time and you’re out’. You’ve got to take a position, some time, somewhere, and that’s it.” Frankly, it wasn’t good enough. What if Holyfield, having gone on, had lost concentration and been knocked out? Where would the whole of boxing have stood then? By disqualifying Tyson, Lane at least put the blame where it should lie.

But if Tyson had won, effectively by using these tactics, then boxing may not have survived the scandal. Rules are there to be enforced. He of all people should know the importance of that, even in the white heat of a Tyson-Holyfield rematch. Surely, in the light of this, administrators will persuade referees to take a firmer grip. Holyfield was ferried to the Valley Hospital in Las Vegas to have the piece of ear stitched on. He is said to need plastic surgery following an unsuccessful operation. Paramedics said the missing chunk was about half an inch wide. “I was beating him anyway,” said the 34-year-old champion, who also accused  Tyson of attempting to break his arm. “I just praise the Lord it’s not worse. I felt my ear had fallen off. “It’s an easy way to get out of the fight. You get yourself disqualified.” Later, Holyfield’s head trainer Don Turner was asked if he had seen anything like it before.

He paused and then said: “In Harlem.” And co-trainer Tommy Brooks was almost as disgusted by Tyson’s raging-bull antics after the fight was over when he tried to attack Holyfield through a melee of ring officials and policemen, saying: “I had a lot of respect for Mike Tyson before this. No more. I can’t believe what I saw. “He had Evander in the ring, one-on-one, man-to-man, and he didn’t do anything. Then, when all those people were in there, then he wants him? Come on. That’s nothing but bully stuff. “Things like that happen in the street, but they have no place here. It’s just disgusting. Completely disgusting.” Tyson and his camp made much of the second-round clash of heads which left him with an ugly two-inch gash over the right eye. He claimed Lane’s view of the head clash as accidental, and therefore his decision not to deduct a point from Holyfield, had forced him to dispense with the rules. This was one of the lamest, most pathetic excuses I have heard from any so-called sportsman, anywhere, at any time.

And it served only to reflect and reinforce the siege mentality which has emanated from Tyson and his camp since his release from jail in 1995. Tyson’s apparent rage when he realised he had been thrown out was ridiculous. The man knew what he was doing. In the old days fighters got themselves disqualified by hitting low, but the supposedly more civilized and sophisticated rules our sanctioning bodies have foisted upon us now force men who are punched in the genitals to box on. Deliberate head butts get point deductions, if referees notice them. And so Tyson chose this way out. And even then he had to do it twice. Some have also pointed out that his attempt to leave his corner for round three without his gumshield was further evidence of his intention. Maybe, maybe not. It may have been a coincidence. But whether or not he was wearing a mouthpiece, he bit. End of story. Of course he had to make a show. He is alleged to have shoved a security guard during the in-ring melee, and was then pelted with debris and spat on as he left the arena.

Some have speculated that he may face criminal prosecution because of the violence and illegality of his assault on Holyfield, his mild attack on the officer, and possibly even an incitement to riot charge, in view of the mayhem that occurred in the MGM hotel and casino afterwards. I make no secret of the fact that I fled through an emergency exit, along with Glenn McCrory and Ian Darke, as people stampeded, claiming guns were being fired. More than 20 people were said to have been hurt, although police said later they found no evidence of gunshots. MGM security staff said there were fights in the building which spilled outside and into other casinos. Eventually, when Tyson emerged from his dressing room, he attempted some kind of justification. “He butted me in the first round and the second round. No one warned him. What can I do? This is my career. I got children to raise. I have to retaliate. “Listen, Holyfield’s not the warrior everyone says he is. He’s not rough. I’m ready to fight.

He didn’t want to fight.” When pressed further by the excellent Jim Gray of Showtime TV, Tyson simply could not, or would not, see that he had just acted in a manner way beyond any laws laid down by anybody since John Broughton first attempted to instil some discipline on the sport more than 250 years ago. “I addressed it in the ring,” he said, bleakly treading deeper into the mire. “I have got to go home, and my kids have got to be scared of me. Look at me! Look at me!” This bizarre outburst from a man who had been considered, at one point in his amazing career, with the best heavyweights in history would not have washed with any four-round trier on the club circuit. Fighters, whatever their status, understand that cut eyes caused by clashes of heads, even those which are deliberate, are a hazard of the trade. As the current cliché goes, they come with the territory. Fighters get cut. End of story. They don’t bleat about what their families will say when they get home. Predictably, nauseously, Tyson’s co-manager John Horne tried to justify his employer’s act.

He’s not worth quoting, but he served to reinforce the long-held impression that Tyson is surrounded by people whose perspective is wrong-headed. Promoter Don King appeared shocked and chastened. King has many critics in this often murky business, but this time I felt some measure of sympathy for him. This is a bizarre, unclean business, but King does work hard for his money, and Tyson’s act, so far beyond anybody’s control, had just dug a huge hole in the profits, not only this show, but the general marketability of boxing. King’s business is too strong to be ruined completely by the misdemeanours of a single fighter. But for Tyson, what does the future hold? When he went home and closed the door on his business associates, maybe even those select, sycophantic few who purport to be his friends, on his new wife, and his dearly-loved children, what kind of man did he see in the mirror? Was it the child, the innocent son of a drunken mother and absent pimp of a father? A boy who craved love, and who may have been so different if he had received it? Was it the street-thug old before his time?

Was it the teenager who found himself under the visionary, desperately obsessed charge of an elderly trainer bent on one last champion? Was it the man who descended into a personal hell with the death of Cus D’Amato and Jimmy Jacobs and the unfathomable chaos of his marriage to Robin Givens, followed by defeat by Buster Douglas? Was it the man who was dehumanized in an Indiana jail cell, where he languished for the rape of Desiree Washington? Was it even the great young fighter who destroyed a generation of heavyweights in the second half of the 1980s? Or was it the disgraced coward? Did he stare at himself and see a fighter who abused his privileged right, who twisted and corrupted the only professional activity which had given him relief from the torment of being alive? And what will he do now, assuming the Nevada Commission do not eventually ban him for life, and assuming that the authorities do not lock him up? Whatever his managers say to the contrary, Tyson wants no more part of Holyfield. He may genuinely want to box again, but against whom? At what level?

If he hated the media for the portrayal of him in the past, what he is likely to experience now is the open contempt of his public. If they turn out to see him now, it will be in the hope that he takes a hiding. And such is the perversity of his mind that he may wish to punish himself by taking one. Frankly, I don’t know whether this undignified, insecure man will be able to cope, inside or outside boxing. As for Holyfield, his place among the heavyweight greats is secure. For the week leading up to the fight he was almost serenely relaxed. He used his role to promote his faith, working out every day in the media tent and answering with craft and courtesy any questions put to him, and never losing an opportunity to bear witness to his religion. At one point he launched a ‘Holyfield Warrior’ youth initiative scheme with a Gospel-style, all-singing, all-dancing ceremony which, to put it mildly, left the gathered hacks of the world somewhat startled. And plainly, throughout the week, he knew he was the man in superior psychological as well as physical shape. At the final Press conference, Tyson, who for years has traded on intimidation, averted his gaze.

At the weigh-in, it happened again. And in the stare-down during Lane’s instructions in the ring, Tyson blinked and looked down. It looked for all the world as if the 11th round battering he had taken last November had destroyed his self-belief. As he walked restlessly around the ring, before the start, it was not the fearsome prowl of old. He looked a dull-skinned, ageing athlete. Meanwhile, before his walk to the ring, Holyfield sang hymns of joy and celebration of the spirit in his dressing room. Holyfield had come in at 15st 8lbs, heavier than ever, while Tyson had slimmed down four pounds to scale exactly the same. But the contrast between them could not have been greater. Whereas Tyson’s pre-fight analysis had been stubbornly unintelligent – “I just want to fight, that’s all, I’m in great shape” – Holyfield knew the score. “He might be faster than me, he might hit harder than me. But I can take his. He can’t take mine.” Don Turner had predicted: “Tyson’s character will let him down.

He used to move his head, but when he’s moving his head, he can’t punch. Eight inches of movement, and he’s got to start all over again. And he don’t have the patience for that. It’s character.” Holyfield came straight out and jabbed Tyson off balance. Tyson, perhaps trying to remember what Richie Giachetti had tried to help him do, attempted to work his own jab, and then threw a left hook, but Holyfield ducked it. Inside the first minute, Lane warned them both for rough stuff in the clinches. Tyson missed with right hands, and looked sluggish, almost worried. Holyfield made him miss, and twice landed countering right hands over the top. Tyson found himself being shoved back, and had to launch attacks off the back foot. Holyfield seemed to shake his composure further with a left hook to the body and left hook to the chin, and although Tyson did connect with a straight right to the head, the crowd rose to the champion with rolling chants of “Holyfield, Holyfield …” The champion’s dominance continued in the second. Tyson did try to jab, did attempt to feint, but was out of range.

He used his shoulder, and then suddenly complained bitterly when they cracked heads inside. He dabbed at his eye, but Lane ruled it an accidental clash. Holyfield leaned on Tyson and bulled him around. Tyson landed occasionally with left hooks, but Holyfield countered and physically imposed himself by gripping his shoulders with both gloves and marching him backwards. He also landed a jab and left hook, then shoved him off again. Again, Lane told them to tidy up. As the bell ended, Holyfield was in control, and as they pushed the swab into Tyson’s cut, he yelled in pain. Slow out for the third, and sent back to have his mouthpiece put in, Tyson responded with a fast, venomous start. In short spurts he can still fight as well as any man in the world, and Holyfield had to tuck up and concede ground. He kept his chin down, countered and thought things out, and gradually Tyson’s storm began to subside. Tyson landed a left hook, and then used the forearm inside. He tugged on Holyfield’s arm in another clinch, and it became fiercely physical.

But then Holyfield began to open up again, and he let go a four-punch combination that showed Tyson what kind of man stood in front of him. Tyson blasted in a right hand and left hook, as well as a solid jab, but again they had little impact … and then came the bulldozing attack and clinch, which resulted in the first, more appalling bite. The fight was effectively over in spite of the four-minute delay, the two-point deduction, the second bite and the bell to end the round. Tyson had opted out of the fight, and it was simply a question of when referee Lane would accept the fact. Already the reaction was inevitable. The lines were forming in the minds of a thousand headline writers: Iron Mike had turned into aluminium, the Fight of the Century had become the Bite of the Century, the Real Deal had become the Real Meal. Boxing was on the front pages again … and once again it was for the wrong reasons. Eleven years ago, Mike Tyson did boxing’s image enormous damage with his juvenile comment about trying to drive the tip of Jesse Ferguson’s nose into the base of his brain. Now he might have dealt it an even more savage, and entirely unjust, blow.

The old game’s reeling again. And it has never seemed less like a game. Mike Tyson takes a bite out of Evander Holyfield's ear - NY Daily News Mike Tyson chews off a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear during 1997 Las Vegas bout Mike Tyson takes a bite out of Evander Holyfield's ear NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Mike Tyson (r.) chomps down on Evander Holyfield's ear during shocking incident inside the ring. (GARY HERSHORN/REUTERS) Sunday, June 28, 2015, 9:00 AM (Originally published by the Daily News on Sunday, June 29, 1997; written by Michael Katz) LAS VEGAS - Biting off more than he could chew, Mike Tyson was disqualified for twice sinking his teeth into Evander Holyfield in the third round of last night's rematch between the two biggest money-making fighters in history. It was the kind of performance that, outside the ring, could be construed as a parole violation.

Tyson may not have lost his freedom last night, but by biting off a piece of Holyfield's right ear, spitting it on the canvas, and getting disqualified after trying for a second helping on the other ear, his place in history will certainly be on the pages with the villains and cowards. Holyfield, who beat Tyson badly and stopped him in the 11th round last Nov. 9 to set up the richest rematch in ring history, was awarded a three-round disqualification and taken to Valley Hospital, where it was expected doctors would try to sew back on the top of his right ear, which landed on the table in front of ringside judge Duane Ford. Referee Mills Lane, who replaced Mitch Halpern two days ago under pressure from the the Tyson camp, deducted two points from Tyson after the first bite, which came with 33 seconds remaining in Tyson's best round. Holyfield jumped up and down in pain, and turned his back. Tyson then ran across the ring and hit Holyfield in the back, shoving him into the ropes. Lane warned Tyson that another bite would result in disqualification.

After a few low blows, Tyson went for the left ear right before the bell and Holyfield again jumped up and down in pain. Tyson beckoned Holyfield to "come on, come on," and the three-time champion rushed forward as the bell rang. Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said at that point, Lane told him, "He bit him again, I'm disqualifying him." Ratner said Tyson's reported purse of $30 million would be withheld pending a hearing Tuesday. Holyfield earned his $35 million the hard way. When the announcement was made, more mayhem broke out. The crowd of 16,341 booed one rolled piece of paper hit Lane in the chest and Tyson tried to start a third fight with the Holy Warrior. Scores of people were in the ring when Tyson charged at Holyfield, hitting an intervening police officer in the process. Dr. Alias Ghanen, chairman of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, was asked if striking a police office in the ring constituted a violation of Tyson's parole for his rape conviction in Indiana.

Ghanen was also asked if Tyson's subsequent foray in the stands at the MGM Grand, where he was seen taking swings at customers, might also be a violation. He replied, "Any criminal prosecution is up to the district attorney's office." Tyson was defiant in the face of disgrace, saying the bites were in response to Holyfield butts, one which Lane ruled accidental in the second round, but which opened a nasty cut over Tyson's right eye. "He butted me in the second round and he butted me again," said Tyson. "He kept butting me and nobody would help me. This is my career. What am I supposed to do? I've got children to raise. "Holyfield's not the warrior he claims to be. He got a little nick on his ear and quit." In fact, the butting did not appear to be an eye for two ears, but premeditated. Evander Holyfield reacts after Mike Tyson bit his ear during the third round of their WBA heavyweight championship fight. The fight was called after Tyson was disqualified. "He spit out his mouthpiece and bit me in the ear," said Holyfield, who had actually warned Tyson at the beginning of the third round that he had forgotten the mouthpiece.

"It doesn't show no courage to foul and get out of the fight. Fear causes people to do the easy thing, the quickest thing." In fact, ex-Tyson trainer Teddy Atlas said two days ago that the onetime Brownsville street-tough fighter would "try and get disqualified so he can take the easy way out." Holyfield, who won the first two rounds on all official cards, "landing some elephant shots," according to Ford, had a singular streak of blood running down his back after scoring his 34th victory against three losses. Any streak down Tyson's was not red. As Tyson 45-3 left the ring he made obscene gestures to enraged spectators, grabbing his crotch and pointing fingers. He walked through the crowd toward the dressing rooms in the back of the arena when a plastic bottle filled with mineral water hit a spectator. Tyson, according to several eyewitnesses with cameras, then jumped into the stands, knocking over temporary railings and swinging at customers, trying to reach the alleged bottle-thrower, who was later arrested.

Tyson's camp probably now regrets scuttling Mitch Halpern, the referee in the first encounter between these two, for Lane, the former Marine and prosecutor who sits as a state judge in Reno. After the first bite, Lane told Ratner, "He bit him, he's out." It was the second time during the bout that 'Iron Mike' Tyson had used his teeth on Holyfield. (STEVE MARCUS/REUTERS) Ratner suggested the ringside physician, Dr. Flip Homansky, look at the cut. The doctor said Holyfield could continue. Lane deducted two points from Tyson, who seemed to be in the process of winning his first round. It was scored 9 (minus-2) to 8 so Tyson trailed 29-26 on all cards. Lane said he waited until the end of the third round to make sure that Tyson had indeed inflicted the second bite. "How many times do you want a guy to get bit?" Lane said. "There's a limit to everything, including bites." Don Turner, Holyfield's trainer, said Tyson took a one-inch chunk out of Holyfield's right ear and that a plastic surgeon would try to repair it.

"It's the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen in all my years of boxing," he said. Holyfield, singing hymns in his dressing room, as he did last time, picked up where he left off and hurt Tyson with a right uppercut-left hook combination midway through the opening round. He wobbled Tyson again in the second. When Tyson, still throwing singular wild bombs and no jabs despite changing trainers from Jay Bright to the experienced Richie Giachetti, did land, Holyfield hit back harder. Tyson, who had opened up as a 17-1 favorite for the first fight, but who had slipped to only a 3-2 choice last night, landed his best shots and still Holyfield fired back better.

Question: Who gnawed a chunk from Evander Holyfield's ear on June 28, 1997?
Answer: Mike Tyson